A court ordered the State Advocate to pay €2,500 in compensation to a 24-year-old Senegalese man who has been detained at Mount Carmel psychiatric hospital for over four years during which time his requests to review his mental health state were turned down. 

Mr Justice Mark Simiana heard how the young man had been charged in court in July 2020 for attacking two passers-by and another man who intervened to block the aggression, slightly injuring them and breaching public peace. 

In December of that year, the man was cleared of the charges after a magistrate ruled that, in light of his state of mental health, he could not be held criminally responsible for his actions. 

The magistrate ordered that he be detained at Mount Carmel Hospital for treatment. 

According to the law, a person who is detained at the psychiatric hospital on court order can be released following the review of three psychiatrists. 

Over the years the man has filed several applications calling on the court to review his case by appointing the three psychiatrists, but this had not happened. He had also filed court cases claiming illegal arrest, but they were turned down. 

In light of all this, he filed a case in the First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, claiming a breach of human rights.  Among other things, he argued that the magistrate had failed to provide an effective remedy to his situation when the court failed to appoint the three psychiatrists to review his case. He also said that the law was in breach of his human rights as it did not provide a timeline for such reviews.

As a result, he argued, he was being detained unnecessarily and this was detrimental to his mental state.

Mr Justice Simiana ruled that, while there was no breach of human rights  - as the law as worded allowed for people to seek a remedy - the Magistrates’ Court had failed to provide an effective remedy when it turned down his requests to appoint the three psychiatrists.

The court ordered the State Advocate to pay €2,500 in damages and he ordered the Magistrates’ Court to appoint the three psychiatrists to review the case.